President Cleveland, wishing one day to see a certain circus performance, sent to retain a box. The circus proprietor immediately hired, and sent about the streets of the town, a small army of sandwich men, carrying an advertisement worded as follows: "The President of the United States, with his young and beautiful wife, will honour the circus with their presence this evening."
There was such a demand for seats, that numbers of people were refused; but Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland, having heard that their names had served as an advertisement, did not appear.
After the performance, a great part of the audience demanded the return of half their entrance money, on the ground that the programme had not been carried out in its entirety, since the President and his wife had not made their appearance, as the spectators had been led to expect.
The circus manager was obliged to reimburse, says the paper from which I extract the account.
Never lay aside an American newspaper without reading the advertisements. Ten to one you will be rewarded for your patience.
The following appeared in the New York Herald matrimonial column:
"A Christian gentleman, good family, highest character, American, handsome, educated, cultured, will give his youthful manhood and vigour for the love of a maiden lady with an income; marriage; no triflers."
This reads a "trifle" like a hoax of some male trifler.
In another column, an American, desirous of learning French, expresses himself thus: